IMPERIAL WOODPECKER. 213 



district of California, which borders the territory of Mexico. The exhibi- 

 tion was accompanied by a communication from Mr. Gould, in which, after 

 some general remarks on the Picidse, and their geographical distribution, he 

 referred to the species before the Committee as possessing the characters of 

 the genus Picus in their most marked development, together with the 

 greatest size hitherto observed in that group. In this respect it as far 

 exceeds the Ivory-billed Woodpecker of the United States, Picus princi- 

 palis, as the latter does the Picus martins of Europe. Mr. Gould described 

 it as the 



"Picus imperialis. Mas. Pic. ater, virescenti-splendens; crista elongata 

 occipitali coccinea; macula triangulari interscapular!, remigibus secundariis, 

 primariarumque (prseter terium quatuorve exteriorum) rachibus intermis 

 albis; rostro eburneo. 



"Fcem. Paullo minor; crista occipitali cum corpore concolore. 



"Longitudo manis, 2 ped.; alse (clausae), 1 ped.; caudse, 10 unc; tarsi, vix 

 2 unc; digiti externi portici, eadem ac tarsi, ungues validissimi, arcuati; 

 rostrum exacte cuneiforme, a rictu ad apice 4 unc. long., ad basin 1 unc. 

 latum. 



"This species is readily distinguishable from the Pic. principalis by its 

 much larger size; by the length of its occipital crest, the pendent silky 

 feathers of which measure nearly four inches; by the absence of the white 

 stripe which ornaments the neck of that bird, and by the bristles which 

 cover its nostrils being black, whereas those of the Pic. principalis are 

 white." 



A figure of this species will be given at the end of the work, if a specimen 

 can be procured. 



Picus imperialis, Gould, Proceed, of Com. Sc. and Corresp. of Zool. Soc. of Lond., 



part ii. p. 140. 

 Imperial Woodpecker, Picus imperialis, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. v. p. 313. 



Glossy greenish-black; the elongated occipital crest scarlet; a triangular 

 spot on the fore part of the back; the secondary quills, and the inner webs 

 of most of the primaries, white; bill yellowish-white. Female similar, but 

 without red on the head. 



Male, 24, wing, 12. 



Rocky Mountains and North California. 



